About Henderson / Las Vegas

Founding

Las Vegas (English: "The Meadows" or "The Grasslands") was given its name by Spaniards in the Antonio Armijo party, who used the water in the area while heading north and west along the Old Spanish Trail from Texas. In the 1800s, areas of the Las Vegas Valley contained artesian wells that supported extensive green areas or Meadows (Vega in Spanish), hence the name Las Vegas. John C. Frémont traveled into the Las Vegas Valley on May 3, 1844, while it was still part of Mexico. He was a leader of a group of scientists, scouts and observers for the United States Army Corps of Engineers. On May 10, 1855, following annexation by the United States, Brigham Young assigned 30 Mormon missionaries led by William Bringhurst to the area to convert the Paiute Indian population. A fort was built near the current downtown area, serving as a stopover for travelers along the “Mormon Corridor” between Salt Lake and the briefly thriving Mormon colony at San Bernardino, California. Las Vegas was established as a railroad town on May 15, 1905, when 110 acres (44.5 ha) owned by Montana Senator William A. Clark’s San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake City Railroad, was auctioned off in what is now downtown Las Vegas. Las Vegas was part of Lincoln County until 1909 when it became part of the newly established Clark County. Las Vegas became an incorporated city on March 16, 1911.

Major Events

Las Vegas is one of the most dynamic cities in the world, “reinventing” itself as a gambling mecca, family destination, capital of hedonism (“What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas”), or hotspot for dining and shopping over the years. Several events stand out as turning points:

The floods of 1955, 1984, 1999, and 2003.

Establishment of Las Vegas as a railroad town (May 15, 1905).

Legalization of gambling (March 19, 1931).

Completion of Hoover Dam (October 9, 1936).

Opening of Bugsy Siegel’s Flamingo Hotel on what would become the Las Vegas Strip (December 26, 1946).

Atmospheric nuclear testing (1951 to 1962).

The first Strip property “The El Rancho” was consumed by fire on July 17, 1960.

Elvis Presley returns to live performances in August 31, 1969 by opening the International Hotel

A series of explosions destroys the PEPCON rocket fuel plant and nearby Kidd and Co. marshmallow factory (May 4, 1988)

Opening of The Mirage which began the era of megaresort casinos on (November 22, 1989).

The Dunes became the first Strip property to be imploded on October 27, 1993.

100th birthday, or Centennial, of Las Vegas (May 15, 2005).

Economic History

Las Vegas started as a stopover on the pioneer trails to the west and became a popular railroad town in the early 1900s. It was a staging point for all the mines in the surrounding area, especially those around the town of Bullfrog, that shipped their goods out to the rest of the country. With the growth of the railroads, Las Vegas became less important, but the completion of the nearby Hoover Dam resulted in substantial growth in tourism, which, along with the legalization of gambling, led to the advent of the casino-hotels for which Las Vegas is famous.
The constant stream of tourist dollars from the hotels and casinos was augmented by a new source of federal money. This money came from the establishment of what is now Nellis Air Force Base. The influx of military personnel and casino job-hunters helped start a land building boom which still goes on today.

Las Vegas (often informally abbreviated to “Vegas”) is the most populous city in the state of Nevada, United States, the seat of Clark County, and an internationally known vacation, shopping, entertainment, and gambling destination. It was established in 1905 and officially became a city in 1911. It is the largest U.S. city founded in the 20th century.
The name Las Vegas is often applied to the unincorporated areas of Clark County that surround the city, especially the resort areas on and near the Las Vegas Strip. This 4 mi (7.2 km) stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard is mostly outside the Las Vegas city limits, in the unincorporated town of Paradise.
The center of gambling in the United States, Las Vegas is marketed as The Entertainment Capital of the World, also commonly known as Sin City or Vice City, due to the popularity of legalized gambling, availability of alcoholic beverages at any time (as is true throughout Nevada), and various forms and degrees of adult entertainment. The city’s glamorous image has made it a popular setting for films and television programs.